Helmet



C. H. MYERS ET AL 2 She'ets-Sheet 1 Dec. 7, 1948.

Filed July 6, 1946 I v u. MAL/ATTORNEYS Dec. 7, 1948. c. H. MYERS ET AL 2,455,797

HELMET Filed July 6, 1,946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hui. WWWWMWW em; ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 7, 1948 I Charlies H. 1 M ers and WillianDP. Tam, rm;-

ances Company, Pittsb .oLPennsylvania w urghrl a a-corporation Application July s,1946,.serial:1\ic. 681,32

. 1. This invention relatesflto helmets, and more particularly to those Worn by :the occupants of milltarytanks. 3 There are several problems that arise in connection with helmets "worn .inmii taryft hksy One arises fromthe verylimitedfhead roomthat exists .in a tank, on account of whichthe top oI-the head must remain close to the top of the helmet. "Another problem relates to the useof the-tanks guns. Thatiis; it is importantthatthe' gunneribe abletokeep his eye in as fixed position as possible relative to the gun sights. For ex ample ln some cases his forehead should not :be

helmet. With ordinary helmets this becomes dililcult or impossible whenthe headband is adjusted to decrease its size, because sumac"- justments pull theband away from the of the helmet. In other words, the front oi the: helmetis moved forward away from the wearerfs v the gunner holding.

forehead and interferes with his eye closeyto the sights. s uh he lm et$ also doynot provide good protectionfi'rom blows from the front. A further problem arises fr" he wearing of headphones in a "tank. The cradle strapinside an ordinary helmet linerpress against thehead straps oi the phones and pause material discomfort. 1

It is among the objectspf this invention topro- T30 vide a helmet which can be worntomfdr tably. wlthhead phones and where there is 'restrihted head room,,which'is adjustableior different head sizes; Whichstays in position on the head verywell,

and the front portion of which remainsspaced a fixed distance from the forehead regardless of head band adjustments.

In accordance with'this head band inside ahead-protecting shell its ends disposed near each other in any convenient location, preferably at "the front of the she'll? Means are provided "for adjusting the band ends toward and away from located at the front of V means are connected tothe shell'becausefit is desired to have some means for permaher itly securingthe front of the bandy'to theffront oithe she'll. Consequently, the

will not change, regardless of head "band adjustthe-shell spaces forehead a I thefheadhand is connected to the shell through metrics-as adl l -tj ble each otherto yths size pf the. band. When the band ends; are the shell; the'fadjusting position, or liHffiTQnt jv of the headbandrlative to the front of theshell .1 3 Cla'ims. (Cl. 2-6) from thefshellto protect itfrom blows from the front andalso toprotectthe head from the bandadjusting means. Another pad is mounted in substantiallyllxed position lnthe top of the shell tospace it -from the {top ,of the head. Extending acro s a dependinghack portion of the shell below'the headband is a longitudinally adjustable orresllient'strap for engaging the back of the necktokeep the hack ofthe helmet irombeing pushed forward and therebytilting the front of thehelmet up on the *headflThe shell is provided, with cradlestrapsthat are mounted therein in an improved manner which permits the usual strapsover the frontof thehead to be omitted.

The cradle is adjustable for size, and most of the lower portions of the cradle straps.

Ill-repreferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig; 1aplan view of our helmet with the crown broken away; Fig; 2 is a hottom view orthehelmet; Figflais a vertical section taken on. h'eli ne 01 Fig. 1-; 4 is a vertical section taken on the l-iiieiV-JV of Fig. 1, but showingvonlyhaif {of the front pad; Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryrearview of the helmet with part ofthe shell broken away to showthe neck strap;

andFig, dis adiagran matic view illustrating the head hand adjusted to two different sizes.

Referring to the drawings, a shell l for protectdistance below their upper ends each wear preferably is made of a hard composition material like that used for helmet liners. Inside the shell there are several flexible cradle straps 2; tlie lower ends of which are riveted or other- The upperends of these straps preferably are looped through openings! in a, rigid concave plate 4 whichis securedin the topjof the shell by means of a, rivet t or other suitable means. A short strap is doubled upon itself and sewed to form an inwardly extending loop :1. ,A lace 8 extends throughthese loops and through a loop 9 struck down from the front endoi' the plate. It will he observed that with this mounting of the ends of the strapsfin fixed positions, it is possible to eliminate thepradlesstraps usually located in theyfrontf oi the shell. Therefore, the cradle strapsthat otherwise would press against earphone straps, whic generally extend across the front of the head, are omitted.

The wearers head is spaced a fixed distance from the plate and the top of. the shell hymear s O ap d' hieh p o ects .up in the space .sur-

receiving'lace 8, whereby the pad is supported by.

the lace. By tightening the lace the strap loops T can be swung inwardly to take the slack out i of the cradle straps so that the cradle will fit smaller heads, but without lowering the pad,

materially from the top of the shell to change the spacing between the top of the head and the shell an appreciable amount.

the shell.

A head band It is mounted in the lower part of the shell and has separated ends which-most suitably are located at the front of the shell. As shown in Fig. 3, the band preferably is connected to the lower endsof the. cradle straps by means of a flexible strap ll that extends through loops is with which the cradle straps are.

provided and that is stitched or otherwise secured to the head band between those loops. Consequently, the cradle straps and strap H are connected by intetengaging loops, The cradle strap loops are rather large ,to permit the major portion of the head bandltomove forward in the shell when the band is adjusted to a smaller size, and the connecting strap I! is adaptedto slide forward in-those loops at the sides of the shell. The cradle strap loops preventthehead band raising a material distancein the shella The side and rear portions of the head band may have their inner surface-covered by a soft leather:

lining H] which is folded around thelower .edge of the band and stitched to, its outside. To-profront of the shell, and to protect, the forehead from injury from blows against the front of the shell, a protective pad is mountedin front of the forehead. The front of this pad is slotted to provide loops 2'! through which the front ends of the head band slidably extend for supporting the pad in a manner that will not interfere with adjustment of the band. a I

The front ends of the head band are-adjustably connected to the front wall of the shell. erably, this is accomplished in part by a metal plate 2|, the ends of which. are riveted to the shell and the intermediate portion of which is offset inwardly. Near each end. of this offset portion of the plate is a tongue-1.22 (Fig. 4) which has been struck from the plate and bent inwardly. These tongues project into vertical slots 23 cut in the ends of the straps at longitudinally spaced intervals. By inserting the tongues in different slots the distance between the ends of the head band can be changed, thereby varying the size of the band. To hold the tongues in any given slots, metal loops 2 4 are loosely mounted on the offset portion of the plate where they are adapted to slide over the ends of the head band to lock them on the tongues. When it is desired to adjust the head band the loops are slid toward each other-off the band to ermit the band tobe removed from the tongues. The front pad 20 protects the forehead from the adjusting members in the, front of the shell.

This adjustmentmoves the upper portions of the rear straps forward'in Prefhead and the back of the shell will Vary with 1 vide fixed spacing between the forehead and the It will be seen that by permanentlyoonnecting the front of the head band tothe front of the tion is unimportant.

shell, any adjustments of the band to change its size will cause all but its front portion to move forward or backward in the shell. This movement of the band is permitted by the flexible loops I8 of the cradle straps and by the sliding connection between thestraps and head band. Consequently, the forehead of theqwearer of this helmet always remains in the same position, close to the front of the shell, regardless of the size of the head band. This shifting of the center of the head band toward or away from the front of the shell is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 6 where the full size head band is shown in full line with its center at A. When the band is adjusted to smaller size, it may take the broken line position the center of which is at B. In both cases the front of the band is not disturbed, so the forehead will remain the same distance from the front of the shell. Due to the lack of cradle straps in the front part of. the

shell, the head is not pulled back away from pad 20 if the cradle is adjusted to a smaller size.

Of course, the distance between the back of the the size of the band, but a changein that loca However, to prevent the protruding back portion of the shell, which extends down in back of the neck, from accidently being knocked forward and thereby swingingth'e front of the shell back on the head, a neck strap is provided. This strap may be formed from a,

pair of longitudinally spacedvstrap membersjfl which extend across the inside of the back part ,of the shell below the head band. ,The outer ends of these members are pivotally connected to the shell by rivets 3l,'while their inner ends;

are adjustably connected together by .mear s of. a lace 32. To provide a comfortable cushion for the strap members and lace, a pad 33 is mounted on them. :The back of this pad has slots 34 (Fig. 5) near its opposite ends to permit the strap members to extend through it, and the central portion of the back of the pad is provided with an opening 35 which gives access to the lace. v

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle and construction of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its bestembodident. However, we de sire to have it understood that, within thescope of the appended claims, the invention may be.

practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim: 1 1. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell, an adjustable flexible head band therein having its ends spaced apart and'located at the front of the shell inside thereof, means between said band ends connected to the front of the inside of the shell for adjusting said band ends toward and away from each other to vary the size of the head band, and means flexibly connectingthe remainder of the head band to the shell to permitsaid remainder to move forward therein when the size of the band is decreased, whereby the position of the front of the head band relative to the front of the shell does not change regardless of head band adjustments.

2. A helmet comprising a head-protecting, shell, an adjustable flexible head band therein.

having its ends spaced apart and located at the front of the shell inside thereof, means between said band ends connected to the front of the;

toward and away from each other to vary the inside of the shell for adjusting said band endsi siretofixthel means. flexibly connecting the remainde ttor the head band to the shell to permit said remainder-to move forward therein when 1115645129 of the is decreased, whereby the position oftherfiront-ot the head band relative to; the front at lflleshell does: not changewregardlest-cit headbandadiustm nts; and ahead mountedin the front, of :the shell adapted to space. thettoreheadl from jsaidmband-adjusting means and the shell.

3. nlhelmetcomprisingahezad-protec 'ng shell, an adjustable head time therein having ends disposed adjacent each other, means for adjusting said band endstow-ardand awayfrom each other t yarir, thesiza at the headband, t afmnt Qf sa band being secured to the front oitllffi; shell, means flexibly connecting the remainder of the head band to the shell'to perm-it said remainder to move forwandfliherein when the sizeof the band is decreased wheneby the position ofthe front ofthe head idqreiat ve to the frontoftthe shell ains unchan d reg s of e an ad-t justments, and alongitudinally adjustable strap in the shell extendingacre the back portion thereop bei ow the head band wtl aging the 4. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell, an adjustable head band therein having ends disposed adjacent each other, means for adjusting said band end-s toward and away from each other to vary the size of the head band, the front of said band being secured to the front of the shell, cradle straps in the shell with their lower ends secured to its sides adjacent the head band, and means connecting the head band to said straps with a sliding engagement that allows the band to move across them when the size of the head lband is changed, the sides and rear portion of said band moving forward relative to said cradle straps when the size of the head band is decreased.

5. A helmet comprising a'head protecting shell,

an adjustable head band therein having ends disposed adjacent each other, means for adjusti said band ends toward and away from each other to vary the size of the head band, the front of said band being secured to the front of the shell, cradle straps in the shell with their lower ends secured to its sides adjacent the head band, means flexibly connecting the head band to said straps to allow the sides and rear portion of said band to move forward relative to said cradle straps when the size of the head band is decreased, and a pad mounted in substantially fixed position in the upper part of the shell to space the top of the head a predetermined distance from the top of the shell.

6. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell, an adjustable head band therein having ends disposed adjacent each other, means for adjusting said band ends toward and away from each other to vary the size of the head band, the front of said band being secured to the front of the shell, cradle straps in the shell with their lower ends secured to its sides adjacent the head band and with their upper ends secured to the top of the shell, a pad in the upper part of the shell, a cord connecting the pad to said straps below their upper ends and being adapted to be drawn up in order to pull upper end portions of the straps closer together, and means flexibly connecting the head band to the cradle straps to permit the side and back portions of the hand to move forward in the shell when the size of the band is decreased.

7. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell,

, said handlbeingqseoured to; the frnnt of the shell,

means flexibly connecting the remainder of the head band to the shell to permit said remainder towmione reward th re n when the size f th band is decreased, a pair-cit lon itud a l spa e stranmem ers extendin acresst e in ide of he ack narttofithe shelltlaelow the head, band, means connecting the onto of; id members to the shellra iacecon e matheadia eat e s f s d an-member Addd a p d lidably ou d on said-strap members and provided behind them th anactes ne ms for sa d l e A elm t com risingahead-prot t n sh ll, an adjustable head band therein having spaced ends agate thefrcnt of the shell, each of said onds provided with aplurality of laterally was t cmni esa o r at ra l spaced tongues f ont of t h ll d o ec y cpenin-gs in said ban-d ends, means tor holdingtsaid band ends on said ma as whereb i ifi l fi t hand Openings may beplaced overthetongues to change the size f thead and and m ns fl x l n c n the remainder of the head band to the shell to permit said remainder to move forward therein when the size of the band is decreased.

9. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell, an adjustable band therein having spaced ends located at the front of the shell, each of said ends being provided with a plurality of laterally spaced openings, a retaining member extending across the front of the inside of the helmet with its ends secured thereto and with its central portion spaced from the shell, each end of said central portion being provided with a tongue projecting into one of the openings in the adjacent head band end, a pair of clips slidably mounted on said central portion of the retaining member for holding the band ends on said tongues, said clips being slid-able off the band ends to permit different band openings to be placed over the tongues to change the size of the head band, and means flexibly connecting the remainder of the head band to the shell to permit said remainder to move forward therein when the size of the band is decreased.

10. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell, an adjustable head band therein having its ends located at the front of the shell, means connected to the front of the shell for adjustin said band ends toward and away from each other to vary the size of the head lband, means flexibly connecting the remainder of the head band to the shell to permit said remainder to move forward therein when the size of the band is decreased, whereby the position of the front of the head band relative to the front of the shell does not change regardless of head band adjustments, and a pad slidably mounted on the head band in the front of the shell and adapted to space the forehead from said band adjusting means.

11. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell, an adjustable head band therein having ends disposed adjacent each other, means for adjusting said band ends toward and away from each other to vary the size of the head band, the front of said band being secured to the front of the shell, cradle straps in the shell with their lower ends connected to its sides adjacent the head band, means connecting the upper ends of said straps to the upper part of the shell, said 'shell being free of cradle straps that would engage the front portion of the head, and means flexibly connecting the head band to the lower portions of said straps to permit the sides and rear portion of said band to move forward relative to said straps when the size of the band is decreased.

12. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell, a head band mounted therein, cradle straps in the shell, means anchoring the upper and lower ends of said straps to the shell, and means in the upper part of the shell adapted to space the top of the head a substantially fixed distance from the top of the shell, all of said cradle straps being located at the sides and back of the shell, whereby the shell is free of cradle straps that would engage the front part of the head.

13. A helmet comprising a head-protecting shell, an adjustable head band therein having ends disposed adjacent each other, means for adjusting said band ends toward and away from each other to vary the size of the head hand, the front of said band being secured to the front of the shell, cradle straps in the shell with their lower ends secured to its sides adjacent the head band and with their upper ends secured to the top of the shell, a cord connecting the straps is decreased.

CHARLES H. MYERS. WILLIAM P. YANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 20 77,007 Deas Apr. 21, 1868 631,880 Ross Aug. 29, 1899 1,456,183 Knight May 22, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS 25 Number Country Date 23,018 Great Britain Oct. 18, 1907 

